FIFA scandal a child’s play compared to IAAF, lawyer claims

The scale of doping corruption and money-laundering within athletics dwarfs the financial scandals engulfing FIFA, according to the author of a new wide-ranging report into track and field backed by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

An independent commission set up by WADA is due to publish its findings on Monday and report co-author Richard McLaren told the BBC: “This is going to be a real game-changer for sport.”

Whereas the scandal involving FIFA, football’s global governing body, revolves around corruption allegations involved in the awarding of World Cups, McLaren — an international sports lawyer — said the issues confronting athletics were even more serious as they involved claims that actual results had been manipulated.

“You potentially have a bunch of old men who put a whole lot of extra money in their pockets — through extortion and bribes – but also caused significant changes to actual results and final standings of international athletics competitions.”

McLaren’s comments came at the end of a turbulent week for the International Association of Athletics Federations, track and field’s global governing body, which cancelled its annual awards gala on Friday.